One of the Boys
by Infinite Stupidity
Summary: Jasper has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I've always been one of the guys, but now I'm afraid that's all he'll ever see me as. Things need to change. Fast. B/J E/A Em/R ALL HUMAN rated T for language


BPOV

"Bella, where are you going?" Charlie called out as I snatched my keys off the table in a rush. I rolled my eyes. Where did he_ think_ I was going? I spun around to face him and held my arms out in a sarcastic gesture.

"Oh, right, where else would you be going on a Sunday night?" he muttered to himself. I nodded slowly, exaggerating the movement. He sighed impatiently and asked "Are you going to be staying over tonight? Remember, it's a school night!" I nodded again and grabbed my bag of clothes.

"Bye dad!" I called already running out the door. I jumped into my rusty truck and started the loud engine. When I arrived at the large house, I was surprised to find the red convertible, monster truck, and silver Volvo already there. Alice must have come with Edward, because her flashy Porsche was absent. The blue Ford wasn't there yet, which was odd because Jasper was usually the first person here. I picked up my baseball cap and shoved on my head, cutting the engine. I ran up to the house and opened the door with my key.

"Bella!" Emmett's voice boomed from the couch where he was sitting with Rosalie and Alice. I waved in their direction asking "Where's Edward and Jasper?" just as Edward emerged from the kitchen holding a bowl of popcorn and a tray laden with sweets and juice.

"Jasper's getting pizza. He'll be back in about ten minutes." said Edward, checking his watch. I nodded and picked up my guitar gently, sitting down in one of the big soft armchairs. I absentmindedly began tuning it, looking around the room. Edward sat down next to Alice, who was painting her nails a bloody red. It clashed magnificently with her jet black hair and blue eyes, and Emmett was sucking on Rosalie's face shamelessly.

"Emmett!" I complained loudly. "Do you mind? Go upstairs if you're gonna do that! I don't want to watch you eat Rose alive, if I wanted to see that shit I would watch some crappy romcom!" he unstuck his face from his girlfriend's and glowered at me for a moment before grabbing Rosalie's hand, grinning. He got up and winked at me, towing a giggling Rose towards the stairs.

"Ugh." I shook my head in disgust and returned my attention to the instrument in my hands. Alice and Edward were talking quietly with their heads together when the front door banged open. I looked around to see Jasper kicking it shut with three pizza boxes in his arms. My heart fluttered every time I saw him and I grinned at him.

"Alright Bells? Where are the over hormonal couple?" Jasper asked, grinning towards the ceiling. "Actually, I have a pretty good idea." I shook my head again and looked at the boxes.

"Bring in the goods! Come on, I'm starving!" I waved my hand over to the table.

"What did you get?" Alice asked.

"Well, Miss Brandon, I got the vegetarian option especially for you," he bowed to her and smiled. "and I got Emmett's usual, although it will probably go to waste," another glance towards the ceiling, "and I got the ham and pineapple. Our favourites of course." He turned his amazing grin on me and I chuckled.

"Such the gentleman Jasper. Hurry up!" He placed the boxes on the table and pushed the top one over to me. I thanked him and picked up a slice, but was stopped by Jasper's hand.

"I'd better taste that first before you eat it, you know, just in case it's poisoned." He lifted my hand and took a bite out of my slice.

"Hey!" I laughed as he contemplated the pizza. He nodded and said "Yes, definitely good enough to eat." He lowered my hand again back to my mouth.

"Thanks." I said sarcastically, and he winked.

"What are best friends for, eh?" He obviously had no idea of the effect he had on me. He saw me like his little sister. I was just one of the guys to him. Yeah I chose to play guitar instead of doing ballet like my mom wanted me to, and I don't scream at the sight of spiders whereas Rosalie would run out of the room and Alice would hide behind Edward, and I can burp the alphabet. And sure, I am not afraid to do dares, I mean, I once stripped off my baggy jeans and band tee and ran through the school corridors. And I can take care of myself. I got into this huge fight with that bitch Lauren Mallory and I got a black eye, but I was a lot better off than her. She had a broken nose and two purple bruises blooming around her eyes, and I ripped out some of her blonde extensions. I remember Emmett commenting on my good punching, and him telling me that it took him months to master that at boxing. So yeah, I was a little bit of a tomboy, I didn't wear makeup because I didn't need it. Plus, I didn't have time for all of that what with band practice. So I was in love with my best friend and he was completely oblivious to the fact. Alice had noticed, and so had Rosalie, but the guys were all idiots. They had absolutely no idea. Alice shot me a knowing smile over Edward's shoulder as she leaned in to pick up a slice of pizza from the box that Jasper had slid in front of her.

"Edward, are you okay to play the drums while Emmett is otherwise engaged?" I asked him, and he nodded slightly, not turning away from Alice's lips, which were now locked onto his. I sighed and turned to look back at Jasper. There goes my heart again, I thought wryly. He grinned and pulled out his own electric blue acoustic guitar. He nodded towards my own green one, and I picked it up.

"Which one do you want to practice first?" he asked, strumming the strings with a pick he had produced from his pocket. I shrugged, and he began the first chords of 'One of the Boys'. I suppressed a grin, thinking of just how fitting this song was. It was the story of my life. I had written this song in the hopes that Jasper had gotten the hint, but he hadn't heard the lyrics yet. He had only learned how to play it, and I was saving letting him hear until the right time. This was why I was eager to get here on time tonight, because I was planning on singing it tonight. Alice and Edward got up to go into the kitchen, and Alice gave me a not so subtle grin. I began singing.

Doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo

I saw a spider, I didn't scream,

Cause I can belch the alphabet, just double, dub dare me.

And I chose guitar over ballet,

And I'd take these suckers down

Cause they just get in my way.

The way you look at me is kinda like a little sister,

Like why, your goodbyes

And it leaves me broken with blisters

So I don't wanna be one of the boys,

One of your guys

Just give me a chance to prove to you tonight

That I just wanna be one of the girls

Pretty in pearls

And not one of the boys

So over the summer something changed.

I started reading Seventeen

And shaving my legs.

And I study The Reader religiously

And I walked right into school and caught you staring at me

Cause I know what you know

But now you're gonna have to take a number

Yes okay, Maybe one day,

But not until you give me my diamond ring.

Cause I don't wanna be one of the boys,

One of your guys

Just give me a chance to prove to you tonight

I just want to be a homecoming queen

Bed poster dream

Not one of the boys

I wanna be a flower

Not a dirty weed

I wanna smell like roses

Not a baseball team

And I swear maybe one day your gonna wanna

Make out, make out, make out with me

Don't wanna be

Don't wanna be

Don't wanna be

Cause I don't wanna be one of the boys,

One of your guys,

Just give me a chance to prove to you tonight

That I just wanna be one of the girls

Pretty in pearls

Not one of the boys

Doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo

I finished, and Jasper finished playing the last note. I looked up into his face to see what he thought, and he smiled at me.

"That's a great song, Bells. You could get a lot of money recording that. I couldn't really hear the lyrics, sorry. I was concentrating on playing well because I haven't been practising." He smiled in apology at me, and I tried to let my face fall.

"That's okay, the lyrics weren't really important." I tried to shake it off, but my heart was breaking. I had put so much thought into those words, and he wasn't even listening.

"You have a great voice. Maybe you should sing more of our songs?" he asked hopefully. I smiled at him, hoping it didn't come out as a grimace.

"Sure, I would love that." he smiled at me again.

"Why don't we do some more? What ones do you know the lyrics to?" he asked me.

"Um . . . Check Yes Juliet, August Is Over, No Tomorrow, The Man Who Can't Be Moved, Emergency, Misery Business, That's What You Get, Decode, Pressure, Everlong, Self Inflicted . . ." I trailed off as I caught a glimpse of his shocked expression.

"Wow, you know all of them don't you? I even caught a few that I don't know!" he said, astonished. I nodded shyly, because I had thrown in a few of my own songs, and began playing Man Who Can't Be Moved just for something to do with my hands. Jasper joined in, and I began harmonising by playing a few keys lower than him, and he started nodding his head in time with the music.

"Yeah. I like that. We could use that if we get Edward to throw in some melodies and with Emmett's sick beats we could have a hit." He grinned and concentrated on the composition in his head. Jasper was the music man. He could pick up almost any instrument and play it perfectly after about ten minutes practice. He only played guitar out of preference and because we already had a drummer and keyboard player. He was also the lead singer. Jasper's voice was amazing, and could send shivers down my spine, although I don't know if that was because I was biased.

"Emmett! Get in the shower right now and get your ass down here in five minutes!" Jasper shouted at the roof. I heard Emmett laugh and the shower being turned on.

"Other people have to use that shower, so don't do any freaky shit in there with Rose!" I screamed towards the stairs, then turned to Jasper. "Just to be safe." He nodded in agreement and we stared at each other for a minute before bursting out laughing. Edward and Alice came through the kitchen door with grins on their faces, and I shot Alice a questioning look. She shrugged and looked back to Edward who had taken his place at the keyboard next to the wall.

"I figured you guys were about to start after the 'freaky shit' thing with Emmett." He grinned at me and we started laughing. Emmett came trundling down the stairs at that moment with his black hair dripping down his back with Rosalie following behind.

"Lets get started!" he roared and ran over to the drum kit. We started out with When You Were Young, me on the electric guitar and Jasper on the base. We went through almost all of our songs before Jasper asked me to show us some of the songs I had written.

"Oh. Well okay." I gave a nervous laugh and cycled through all the songs in my head before plucking one out of the list.

I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing

Just praying to a god that I don't believe in.

Cause I got time, while she got freedom

Cause when her heart breaks no it don't breakeven

Her best days will be some in my world

She finally met a man who's gonna put her first

While I'm wide awake she's no trouble sleeping

Cause when her heart breaks no it don't breakeven even no

What am I supposed to do

When the best part of me was always you

What am I supposed to say

When I'm all choked up and your okay

I'm falling to pieces yeah

I'm falling to pieces

You say bad things happen for a reason

But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding

Cause she moved on while I'm still breathing

Cause when her heart breaks no it don't breakeven even no

And what am I gonna do

When the best part of me was always you

What am I supposed to say

When I'm all choked up and you're okay

I'm falling to pieces yeah

I'm falling to pieces yeah

I'm falling to pieces

I'm falling to pieces

Oh, you got his heart and my heart

But none on the plane

You take his suitcase

I'll take the blame

Now I'm trying to make sense of what little remains

Oh, cause you left me with no love and nothing to my name

I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing

Just praying to a god that I don't believe in

Cause I got time while she got freedom

And when her heart breaks well it don't break

No it don't break no it don't breakeven no

What am I gonna do

When the best part of me was always you

What am I supposed to say

When I'm all choked up and you're okay

I'm falling to pieces yeah

I'm falling to pieces yeah

I'm falling to pieces

I'm falling to pieces

I finished and looked up from my guitar only to find five shocked faces staring at me. I instantly felt self conscious and ducked my head to hide my red face.

"Bella . . . that was amazing." I looked up to see Jasper still standing with a shocked expression, but with one difference. He was smiling widely. I smiled back at him and the rest of them relaxed their expressions. Emmett came over and tried to give me a fist pound and I just looked at him.

"Really, Emmett? A _fist pound_?" He shrugged and grinned at me before settling for stealing my cap and messing up my hair. I snatched my cap back and shoved over my hair. We stayed up watching movies until about three in the morning, when Alice fell asleep.

"Hey, we're gonna go to bed now." Edward called to us. "Night all." Edward yawned hugely and picked up Alice's tiny pixie form to carry her upstairs. Emmett was asleep on the floor.

"Well there's no way I'm carrying THAT up the stairs." Rose said, pointing at the hulking mass on the rug. We giggled as she made her way up to her own bedroom.

"Hey," I nudged Jasper to see if he was still awake. "Want to do stuff to Emmett?" he nodded quickly.

"I'll get Rose's makeup, you get the markers. Make sure they're permanent." We stifled laughs as I raced up to Rose's bedroom.

"Rose," I poked my head around the door. "Can I borrow some makeup?" she was sitting on her bed with a mud mask plastered on her face.

"Doing stuff to Emmett?" she asked. I nodded still trying not to laugh. She pointed to her dresser where the biggest makeup set I have ever seen sat. I whispered my thanks and picked up an eye shadow pallet, some lipsticks, mascara, and orange foundation. I carefully made my way down the stairs so they wouldn't creak and met Jasper halfway with his arms full of coloured marker pens.

"You start drawing love hearts and things like that on his cheeks, and I'll do the makeup." I whispered quietly so I wouldn't wake Emmett up. When we were finished, I almost ruined everything with my suppressed laughing.

"Come on, lets go to bed and leave him down here. Get to everyone before they see him and tell them not to laugh too much." We grinned at each other then ran upstairs. Jasper's room was next door to mine, and we had a door connecting them inside. I changed into my sweat pants and tee shirt and slipped into bed. Sleep couldn't come fast enough.

When I woke up, I almost sprinted through to Jasper's room.

"Wake up! Come on!" I jumped on his bed and batted him with pillows.

"What's go-hey!" he shouted and grabbed my ankle, pulling me down. I screamed and began giggling uncontrollably.

"No! Jasper stop!" he was tickling me mercilessly, and I couldn't control myself. I struggled to get up and began jumping on the bed again.

"Bella, what are you so excited about?" he asked me, perplexed.

"You'll see. Emmett gets up in about five minutes. Just keep your ears open." I began giggling again and he pulled me back down. This time I had the upper hand, and I was poking his ribs as fast as I could. Someone cleared their throat loudly and I turned towards the door, where Rose, Alice and Edward were all standing watching us. I suddenly became very aware of how I was sitting on top of Jasper. My face became red, and I quickly got up.

"Hey guys." I said as I passed them, walking into my room. Alice and Rosalie were beaming at me, but Edward was grinning at Jasper. Huh, weird. I changed into my favourite jeans and a red tee shirt, before making my way downstairs. Emmett was still lying on his back snoring loudly, so I prodded him with my toe.

"Emmett, wake up! We're going to be late for school!" He only grunted and rolled over. I sighed impatiently and walked into the kitchen. The rug would need hung outside after this, but it was funny. I walked back out of the kitchen with a bucket of ice water I kept especially for occasions such as this. Standing over Emmett, holding the bucket over his face, I spoke loudly.

"Emmett, this is your last warning. Get you fat lazy ass off the ground right now or you'll be cold. Very, very cold." He grunted again, paying no attention to my warning, and turned over to face me, still asleep.

"You asked for it!" I shrugged and tipped the bucket.

JPOV

"So, what was that?" Edward sat on the edge of my bed and gestured to the messed up covers. I shrugged.

"She came through and was jumping on the bed so I pulled her down and was tickling her then she tickled me and you came in." I said simply. Edward looked at sceptically for a moment.

"Didn't look like that. You look like you were enjoying yourself. Is there something going on between you two?" If only. I shook my head and pressed my finger to my lips and pointed to the door between me and Bella's room. I heard Bella leave the room and go downstairs.

"Look, she doesn't feel that way about me, Edward. It's not going to happen. I'm like her big brother." I sighed and walked towards my dresser, pulling out a pair of faded blue jeans and a white tee.

"Well, I don't know, I mea-" he was cut off by Emmett, who was shouting at the top of his voice.

"WHAT THE HELL BELLA? WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" he screamed.

"Well you should have got up when I told you to!" she yelled back. I ran downstairs to find Bella nose to nose with a soaking wet Emmett (which is no mean feat due to how tall Emmett is).

"What the hell is going on?" I forced myself between them. Emmett glared at me and pointed over my shoulder.

"SHE poured ice water over my head!" he screamed again.

"What?" I was laughing, and that seemed to make Emmett even angrier.

"Go take a shower Emmett." I said to him in a calm voice. Everyone was in the living room now, watching the fight. Emmett glowered at everyone who had started roaring and laughing the moment he turned to face them. Shit. I forgot about the makeup.

"Emmett, what the hell did you do to your face? Did you let Alice experiment on you again?" Edward was doubled over holding his stomach. I winked at Bella and looked away again. Every exposed part of Emmett's skin was bright orange, and he had neon pink eye shadow. His mascara was running down his face from the water that had been poured over his head, and his lips were ruby red. I had drawn pink and red love hearts all over his cheeks, and blue stars across his forehead. Bella and I had signed out names under his chin, but he hadn't looked in a mirror yet. He ran up to the bathroom and we waited in silence. It only took a minute before we heard him charging like a bull along the upstairs landing. He came stomping down the staircase and pointed a finger at us.

"YOU TWO!" he roared. We put on carefully blank expressions and Bella said "Yes, Emmett dear?" a little too innocently. He screamed, and I swiftly put myself between Emmett and Bella again. She could take care of herself, but against Emmett? No. Rose hurried forward and grabbed Emmett's elbow.

"Emmett! Calm down! It was only a joke. Go take a shower and I'll deal with these two." He reluctantly nodded and glared at me before storming back up the stairs.

"Jasper, really? You had to sign your names?" she gave a resigned sighed and a smile cracked across her face. Rose was sick of the prank war that had been raging between Emmett, Bella and I since god-knows-when, but she could appreciate a good prank when she saw one. We all grabbed a slice of cold pizza for breakfast and Edward and Alice left for school. I normally rode with Bella in my blue Ford so we walked out to the cars. I got into the drivers seat and started the engine, just as she climbed into the passenger seat. I grinned at her and sped off down the highway.

"Hey, I think we might have pushed Emmett over the edge this time. I think we should apologize, just so he doesn't kick my ass." I laughed and she nodded her agreement.

"Yeah, but I would love to see you get your ass kicked by Emmett. I don't think you could take him." She smiled, and I mocked hurt.

"Really, Bella? You have so much confidence in me." If only she knew how much confidence I had in her, says Jasper-in-love-with-his-best-friend-Whitlock. Idiot! How could I have let that happen? Sure, it was a couple of years ago that I realised it, but I was still angry with myself for harbouring false hope. There was no way Bella would ever feel that way about me. I had to control myself around her and the incident this morning could have turned out so much worse for her. I could have ruined our friendship, and if Edward hadn't interrupted with Alice and Rose when they did, they might walk in on something that would probably be mentally scarring. I chuckled to myself at the thought of Emmett curled up somewhere in a padded cell with an insane look in his large brown eyes.

"What are you laughing at, Mr. Tickles?" Bella asked me, cutting through my thoughts like a knife.

"Oh, I was thinking of how Emmett is going to have to walk about school for about three days with love hearts and stars all over his face." I wildly invented something to tell her, and she bought it.

"Man! This is gonna be hilarious! I can't wait for everyone to see him!" she began laughing so hard it was contagious. I completely forgot about my worries and joined in. We arrived at school just after Edward's Volvo, but before Emmett and Rose. We met up with Edward and Alice at one of our usual cafeteria tables and sat and chatted.

"Hey, Bella." A familiar and highly annoying voice came from behind me and I turned to see Mike Newton staring at her. My temper rose as I looked at the preppy boy who couldn't leave Bella alone. I hated him for having the guts to actually ask her out, something I couldn't do for fear of ruining our friendship if she declined.

"Umm, do you want to go to the movies on Friday?" he asked hopefully. Ah, poor, hopeful Mike. Always coming back for more even though he is rejected every time. Bella was also getting very annoyed with him.

"No Mike! Five times last week, and first thing on Monday morning? What is wrong with you? How many times do I have to say the word 'no' Mike?" she asked him, exasperated. He looked taken aback at her outburst and then glowered at her.

"God, Bella, you don't have to be such a bitch!" I don't know what happened, but I found myself on my feet towering over him. I stood a good foot taller than him, and he looked up at me with terrified eyes.

"Would you like to repeat yourself?" I asked menacingly. He whimpered and shook his head frantically. Yeah, you should be scared asshole, I thought to myself. Bella stood and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Jasper. I'll take care of this." I turned to look at her, and she gave me a reassuring smile, although I could see it all boiling up under her calm mask. I turned back to Mike and chuckled at him.

"Oh, you're in for it now, Newton!" I said with absolute glee. She wore that exact same expression when that Mallory bitch was insulting her. Right before Bella broke her nose. Secretly, I was hoping for another break.

"Right. Well, Newton, like my good friend Jasper here said, would you like to repeat yourself?" she still had the same reassuring smile on her face, and Mike had no signs to warn him of what was about to come. Stupidly, he replied.

"Yeah! I only asked you out! You don't have to act like a sullen bitch all the time!" I actually laughed at this. How stupid could one person be? Bella's face quickly changed from nice to one of rage.

"Oh really Newton? Well if you weren't such a persistent little douche and left me alone, I might not find a reason to kick your ass! Why don't you run off and date that little slut Jessica Stanley if you want someone to go to the movies with? She practically drools over you every time you walk into the room!" I silently cheered her on and hoped against hope that he would reply. If he was smart, he would walk away. I was counting on Newton's grade point average.

"Jessica is not a slut, and at least I have someone that likes me! You have no one because you're a dirty little guy! You act like a total guy, you hang with guys, hell, I wouldn't be surprised if you got a sex change!" that did it. Bella's arm snapped back, before flying forward. Her fist made a pleasant crunching noise against Newton's nose, and he fell to the ground clutching his face. I was on the ground holding my stomach from laughing so hard it hurt. Newton was holding his stomach because Bella had just booted him in the gut. I laughed even harder at this.

"What the fuck? You're fucking insane!" Mike shouted at her and scrambled away.

"Yeah, well at least you can say it was a girl that beat your ass so bad you needed a nose brace!" she shouted after him. By this point, everyone was staring at our table, and our table was staring at me. I picked myself off the floor and high fived a grinning Bella.

"Bella, that was the best fight I've ever seen, and I was there when you did Lauren!" I was still occasionally chuckling to myself and wiping a tear from my eye.

"Um, I think I'm gonna skip today. I'm gonna be in so much trouble as it is." She looked sheepish at the thought of facing her father.

"I'll come with you. You don't have a car." I volunteered, and she looked cheered by the idea. I caught Alice give Bella the thumbs up, and saw Edward was doing the same to me. Wait. He knew about my thing for Bella, so he was giving me thumbs up for obvious reasons . . . so why the hell was Alice giving Bella the thumbs up if not for obvious reasons? I mean, Bella doesn't feel that way about me, right? Edward had noticed the exchange between the two girls and was looking as puzzled as I was. I looked at him and he met my glance. What's going on? I silently asked him. He considered something for a moment before shrugging. Rose and Emmett got here on time for the bell. They made their way over to us, and Emmett was looking down at the floor.

"Look, you guys. I'm sorry about how I overreac- hey! Why is there blood on the floor? It's still wet!" Emmett was staring at the patch of red where Newton had been lying on the ground. This sent me back into a laughing fit, and this time Bella joined in.

"Dude you missed it!" I gasped in between laughs. "Bella kicked Newton's ass!" I was so proud of her at that moment. Emmett looked stricken.

"What? I missed it? Aww maaann, I've been waiting for that since the start of term!" he moaned loudly. Alice giggled and held up her phone.

"You have to love the camera phone." She winked at Emmett and quickly played a video. I couldn't see it, but I could hear Newton insulting Bella all over again and it made me want to beat him up twice as bad. I heard him hitting the floor, and my own hysterical laughter in the background. Alice gave Emmett a disapproving look as we draped over each other trying to keep the other one up. Emmett was laughing harder than I was the first time around.

"Good form, again! I don't know where you learned how to fight like that, but give me his card!" Emmett howled, gasping for air.

"We should section off that little part of the floor with the blood on it and make it a monument to when Mike finally learned his lesson: Don't mess with Bella Swan bitches." Laughed Rosalie after Alice handed her phone over.

"Come on Jasper. I really want to go before someone comes!" I nodded and pulled my keys out.

"See ya. Tell me what everyone thinks of Mike's new face!" I called over my shoulder. Bella waved to our friends and we exited the cafeteria.

"So . . . where do you want to go? Would the clubhouse be too obvious?" I asked her and she nodded.

"Let's go to the clubhouse. There's more stuff to do there anyway. Can we stop at mine first? I want to get a change of clothes and Charlie will be at work." I nodded and started the engine. When we got to Bella's house, she ran inside and was back in a few minutes with a bag over her shoulder. I backed out of the space that was usually occupied by Charlie's police cruiser and began the drive to the clubhouse. Man, I loved that house. We had all put our money into buying that place, and we all decorated our own room according to personal style. Bella's and mine were surprisingly similar. We both had a full wall of books and the wall opposite being CDs. We both shared the same taste in music, which greatly helped in composing songs and writing lyrics for our band. We still hadn't come up with a name for it yet because nothing seemed to fit. I was so deep in thought that I didn't even have to think about where we were going as I drove down the familiar dirt track that led to the huge house. I parked next to her truck and cut the engine. I could see that Bella was worrying needlessly about the consequences of her actions back in the cafeteria.

"Bella, it's going to be alright. You have a 4.0 grade average! They can't kick you out, so don't worry." I laughed at her expression. It was a cross of annoyance, worry, amusement, and shyness. I unbuckled the seatbelt and climbed out of the car only to find Bella already waiting by the front door.

"I forgot my key. . ." she smiled timidly, and watched me unlock the door for her. I did a mock bow and held it open before following her in. The crime scene was exactly the same as this morning, and I sighed heavily. That was my favourite rug. It was a collage of all my favourite bands printed onto the material. I picked the sopping rug up and carried it through to the large sink in the kitchen, where I dumped it and went in search of washing up liquid. When I finally found it, I began scrubbing as much make up as I could out of the fabric, but to no avail.

"Dammit!" I threw the scrubbing brush with more force than necessary back into the sink where it contacted with the metal in a loud clatter. A small hand placed lightly on my shoulder made me jump. I turned to look into my favourite chocolate brown eyes and she wore a soft expression.

"Here, let me do that." she said quietly. She was so close I could practically smell her. I closed my eyes, willing myself not to lean down and close the gap between our lips. When I opened them again, I searched the room frantically for Bella who had disappeared. A sloshing of water made me spin around to face the sink, where I found her rhythmically scrubbing the stains with shampoo. I took up the other side of the large rug and helped. She looked up at me, and I smiled at her.

"Two hands work faster than one!" I tried to sound cheerful, and she returned my smile with a dazzling one of her own. Was I the only one who felt that back there?

BPOV

Oh. My. God. He was so close, and I just couldn't take it. I had to move before I did something, so I picked up the shampoo I had found in Rosalie's bathroom (trust her to have an entire stock of toiletries. It's like she lives here permanently) and hurried over to the sink. Thank god I had to learn how to clean clothes. My mom's clothes are mostly hand washed, so I had to learn for when I was doing the laundry. Jasper followed me after a minute and picked up the other side of the rug, copying my actions. When it was finally clean, I picked it up and inspected it. I nodded to myself and carried it outside to hang up on the washing line. I jumped when the peg basket appeared in front of me. I hadn't realised Jasper had followed me outside.

"Made you jump!" he jeered, and my favourite smile made it's way onto his face. I playfully slapped his arm and said "Not fair! But I do know a way to get you back . . . Didn't we leave something unfinished this morning?" his eyes widened in realisation, and I chuckled to myself. Jasper turned to run, but I was too quick for him. I pounced and landed on his back, making him fall forwards. My hands snaked around his chest to reach his ribs, and they found their mark. He rolled over, trying to protect his ribs from my fingers, but his laughter was shaking his body too much to stay in one place for long.

"Ah! No! Bella . . . you know I'm . . . ticklish! He gasped, attempting to get the sentence out. I giggled along with him.

"Yes, I know you're ticklish and that's why this is the perfect punishment! Death by laughter!" I shouted. I was caught by surprise when he flipped me over so I was under him. The thought flew out my mind as his fingers attacked the cage my arms made around my torso. I squealed in surprise when he broke through and began poking my ribs mercilessly. We began rolling, each trying to get the upper hand in our battle, when we came to rest in a soft patch of grass, both out of energy. It was then I realised I was lying on his broad chest. His smooth, broad, hard chest . . . control yourself Bella! I mentally shouted at myself. Jasper's eyes held a curious expression as he stared at me turn gradually redder, and redder, and redder.

"Damn blush." I muttered to myself.

"Bella, what are you embarrassed about?" he asked. I hid my face in his tee shirt, and mumbled an answer.

"What?" He grabbed my forearms and pulled me up so he could look me straight in the eye.

"I don't like people staring at me. It makes me self conscious." I muttered again, and he laughed. He must have seen the hurt in my eyes because he quickly stopped.

"No! let me explain! I laughed because I can't believe anyone as beautiful as you could ever feel self conscious! Please don't be." he said quickly, but I could hear the honesty in his voice. I don't know what made me do it, but all of my self control flew out of the window at that very moment, and all I know is that one minute we were looking at each other, and the next his lips were being crushed by mine. Jasper froze, but before I could pull back, he responded enthusiastically. His arms slid around my waist and pulled me closer, and my hands found their way into his soft honey blonde hair. I was the one who reluctantly broke the kiss, as we both had the need to breath. Jasper's deep blue eyes were dancing, and a smile played across his lips.

"Well, that was . . . unexpected. But welcome." He grinned at me, and I hid my face again.

"Um, maybe we should get off the wet grass now?" Jasper suggested, and I nodded in agreement. You couldn't lie in the grass in Forks because of all the rain. Jasper stood up, pulling me with him, and I gasped when I saw his back. His blue hoodie was soaking and muddy, and I took my own one off to discover that it was nearly as bad. Jasper had been lying on his back for longer, so mine wasn't as bad as his was.

"Uh, maybe we should get changed before we do anything else." I pointed out, and we walked back to the house. Jasper opened the door for me again, and I dropped his hand.

"Bella? What's wrong?" Jasper walked in behind me and froze. Rosalie, Emmett, Edward and Alice were all standing looking at us.

"Guys? What are you doing here?" I heard Jasper ask from beside me. Emmett scoffed and said, "We decided to skip with you, but I think the real question is what were _you two_ doing _out there_?" I laughed and walked over to punch Emmett in the arm.

"God! You make it sound like we were up to something!" I laughed and hid my wet hoodie behind my back, but not before they noticed Jasper's wet clothes.

"Why are you two all wet?" Rosalie asked suspiciously. I laughed nervously and shrugged.

"I'm gonna go upstairs now." I turned and ran towards the stairs, but a massive hand caught me before my shoe even touched the bottom step. Emmett picked me up and swung me over his shoulder.

"Hey! Put me down!" I beat my fist against his back as hard as I could, but he only chuckled.

"Leave her alone!" Jasper said angrily from the other side of the room. I stopped, shocked, and his outburst seemed to have the same effect on everyone else. It was enough to make Emmett drop me, and I got up as quickly as I could and ran back to Jasper. I hid behind him and peeked over his shoulder, ready to run if Emmett tried to grab me again.

"Thanks," I breathed in his ear, and he nodded.

"Well, um, we're both gonna go upstairs. Emmett, do you mind if you don't manhandle me this time please?" we hurried upstairs successfully this time, and no one seemed to make a move to stop us.

"I'll leave you to get changed." He muttered to me when we reached my room. I nodded as he disappeared through the door that connected our rooms and I moved towards the dresser. I picked out another pair of skinny jeans, stonewashed this time, and a Paramore tee shirt. I pulled on a pair of black converse and knocked on the door that led to Jasper's room. He opened, and I noticed ha had changed into a pair of black skinnies, a purple hoodie, and a purple pair of converse. His hoodie was unzipped, and underneath I could see a Ramones band tee. I put my finger to my chin and inspected his outfit.

"Hmm, it appears that we match. Nice style." I laughed, and I looked up to see him smiling down at me. He leaned down to brush his lips against mine again, and I felt him smile against my lips.

"What are we going to do?" he asked me cautiously. I understood instantly and. Just as cautiously, replied.

"Well, I don't know. Do you want to tell them? Are we officially a couple?" he grinned and leaned down again so our lips were almost touching.

"Only if you want to be, to both questions. Personally, I'd say yes to both." I laughed, still looking at his lips. He seemed to be doing the same thing.

"Um, yes?" he smiled again and pressed his lips to mine. I deepened the kiss, putting my arms around his neck. He put his arms around my back, one hand in my long hair. If I had the choice, I'd spend every minute of my life kissing Jasper. Unfortunately, this kiss was cut short by a loud gasp from the door. We broke apart quickly, and I was confused.

"Wait, didn't we decide to tell them?" I asked, unsure.

"Oh yeah! He laughed, and put his arm back around my waist. I turned towards the door, where a stricken looking Emmett was standing with his jaw hitting the floor.

"Wha-you-and him – KISSING!?!" he spluttered, a look of total rage on his face. Emmett was like my big bear of a brother, and finding me kissing someone was probably a low blow to his overprotective side that wanted to rip any guy that got near me to shreds.

"Emmett, I-" I tried to speak, but was stopped by Rosalie, who had come into the room. She was looking at Emmett and hadn't noticed me and Jasper yet.

"Emmett, what are you shouting about now?" she followed his glare, which was directed at Jasper, and her eyes finally rested upon the both of us arm-in-arm. Her face suddenly lit up, and she raced over to grab me away from Jasper.

"OhmygodyoutwoIwaswaitingforlikeeverforyoutwotofinallygettogetherandafterEdwardsaidthatJasperlikedyouandnottotellyouohmygod!" she practically screamed in my face, before pressing her hands over her mouth.

"Oops! I wasn't supposed to tell you! Don't tell Edward!" She gasped, her plea muffled by her hands.

"What? You didn't tell me? I am going to kill Edward!" I screamed back, but in anger and not excitement like Rose.

"Where is he? EDWARD!" I shouted out of the door. When no one appeared, I charged down the landing. I faintly heard Rose shout a half-hearted "No!" from my room, but I didn't care. I was on a warpath. How could Edward not have told me? I was fuming. All this time I had been in love with Jasper and Edward had vital information that could have led to me getting together with Jasper sooner, all because I was afraid Jasper only liked me as a friend. . .

"EDWARD! WHERE ARE YOU?" I screamed at the top of my voice when I reached the empty living room. Alice came walking out of the kitchen with a grilled cheese sandwich in her hand, and said "He's gone to hide." I growled and plopped down on the settee to wait.

"He's not coming back until you promise to calm down. After he saw you land one on Newton's face, he's not taking any chances." Alice stated calmly. The stairs creaked slightly, and I turned to see Jasper step cautiously down them, eyeing me warily.

"It's fine Jasper. Edward just kind of pissed me off." He sighed and came to sit down next to me.

"I was kind of worried for him when you stormed off after him there," he laughed. "I thought you might have gone all kick ass Bella on him! Man, that would have been funny." I grimaced.

"I still haven't ruled that out."

"Then I'm not coming out!" Edward called from his hiding place.

"Coward." I muttered under my breath, then sat up straight.

"Wait, he's in the room?" I got up and walked quietly over to the closet.

"No, surely not? The closet? That's the best place you could hide? How cliché." I swung the door open to reveal Edward crouched into a ball hiding behind the coats. I grabbed his ear and dragged him out.

"OW! Bella, I'm sorry!" he yelled at me from the floor. I crossed my arms as he ran over and hid behind Alice.

"Hey, it's your own fault. Don't bring me into this!" Alice side stepped him and sat down on the couch. Edward looked at me fearfully and backed into the wall.

"You," I jabbed my finger in his direction, advancing slowly. "told Rosalie that Jasper liked me, and told her to keep it SECRET?!" my voice rose to a screech at the end, and Edward threw his hands over his head. I was directly in front of him by this point, and my finger was inches from his face. He was going cock eyed trying to keep it in view.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" he begged. Jasper was obviously feeling pretty sorry for Edward by now, because he gently placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned to face him, and instantly felt calm looking into his blue eyes.

"Bella, does it really matter anymore? You know I love you now." Alice's eyes grew wide, but I didn't care. I nodded, dazed by the fact that he had just said he _loved_ me, and he gently took my hand and tried to pull me away from Edward.

"Wait." I told him before turning back to the teenager who was still cowering against the wall.

"If you ever, _ever_ keep something that important from me ever again, I _will_ skin you alive." I hissed. He nodded quickly, eyes wild. "Good, now that's all cleared up," I let Jasper lead me away from Edward who was close to tears.

"Douche." I snickered as he ran from the room. Jasper had been giving me a disapproving look, but at that last threat, he cracked. A wide grin spread across his face and he laughed quietly at the terrified Edward.

"Hey, why is Edward going to need therapy?" Rosalie called from upstairs. I shook my head and called back "Not therapy, maybe a good beating though." I heard him whimper and let a satisfied smile on my. That's what he gets. He was there this morning with Mike, so you would think he had enough common sense to not get on my bad side. As Rosalie put it: Don't mess with Bella Swan, bitches.

"Hey, um did you say you love me?" I asked, hesitant for an answer. He nodded, and a faint pink coloured his cheeks.

"Well, it's true." He muttered faintly.

"Jasper, are you _blushing_?" I laughed in disbelief as he nodded again. "Well, as you said, please don't be self conscious or embarrassed around me. You never used to be." He shrugged.

"Well I have something to say as well. Um, I love you too. I kinda found out like the day we met . . ." I laughed nervously and looked down. Jasper's hand came up to my chin to make me look him in the eye.

"Well, I'm glad we agree on something." And he bent down to kiss me.

"Goddamnit! Emmett, leave us alone!" I yelled in his face as he pulled Jasper away from me. He huffed and crossed his arms when I scooted over to the other side of the couch and tucked into Jasper's side. Jasper put his arm around my shoulder and Emmett tried to separate us again.

"Emmett, what the hell? What is your problem?" he only snorted.

"Look, if you won't tell us then go away. I wasn't finished kissing Jasper." I turned back to Jasper and our lips had only just touched when Emmett yelled "No!" I sighed and reluctantly turned back.

"Look, I'm sorry Bells, but it's your first boyfriend, and I don't want you two getting too serious too fast. I know it's Jasper, and I know he's your best friend and you know each other as well as you know yourselves. I just don't want to see either of you get hurt." He sighed resignedly. Oh, that was so sweet! Poor Emmett, trying to look out for his best friend and little sister.

"We'll be fine Emmett. Don't worry, I'm a big girl and Jasper's a big boy and we can take care of ourselves." I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it couldn't reach my eyes. I decided to stand up and walk around the back of the couch to where Emmett was standing and give him a hug. I put everything I could into that hug to let Emmett know how important he was to me. He seemed startled at first, but wrapped me up in one of his signature bear hugs. Thank god. There was no way I could have Emmett angry with me, because having a fight with him was like fighting with my favourite brother. It would kill me. I stepped back from, just as he said "Guitar Hero World Tour? I bet I can beat all of your asses!" I grinned, and Jasper jumped forward to connect the Wii up. Jasper picked up the guitar (naturally) and Emmett took his place on the drums. I hate bass guitar, so I picked up the mike and Jasper chose first song.

"It's got a good guitar solo!" he defended himself as Parabola by Schism started. I shrugged and tried my hardest to sing along , giving up half way through.

"You guys suck." A deep voice came from the front door, and I swung around to stare at the russet skinned visitor.

"Jake!" I shouted and ran forward to give him a flying hug. "Oh my god, I haven't seen you in months! How are you?" I asked, excited at Jacob Black's visit, which were seldom. He was always so busy up at the reservation with Sam Uley and the rest of the peace-keepers up there. He was so tall now, taller than Jasper, I had to crane my neck to look him in the face. Jasper came to shake Jake's hand, and give him a wide grin. Jasper and Jake were always good friends when he came to visit, mainly due to the fact that Jake was a motorbike enthusiast and Jasper liked to talk shop. Boys will be boys, I internally sighed. Emmett bounded over and shook Jacob's hand, shouting "Good! We were just looking for a bass player that I could whip!"

"Bring it on, bitches!" he yelled back and raced back to the TV where Emmett was setting up an extra guitar.

"My turn to pick a song!" I shouted and quickly chose Hotel California by The Eagles. Jasper played perfectly, hitting every note on expert level, and Jake was almost as good. Emmett, of course, missed almost all of his notes and relied on star power that we had won to pull him through the song. Thank god he was a much better drummer in real life, otherwise we would be screwed. When everyone had taken a shot at picking a song (Emmett chose Hot For A Teacher by Van Halen, one of the hardest songs on the drums because of the sixteenths a the beginning, and Jake chose Misery Business by Paramore, a fairly easy song to play) and we totalled up the scores. Emmett had lost miserably and Jasper had won by miles.

"So, what's new with you?" Jake asked us all, sitting back on a beanbag seat. I moved closer to Jasper and took his hand while he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I smiled up at him and turned back to Jake, who was sitting wide-eyed and open-mouthed. I frowned. Was this going to be everyone's reaction? Because if it was then I was going to be getting very annoyed very quickly.

"You-and you-and-what?" he spluttered, and it reminded me so much of Emmett that I actually laughed.

"Hey, you do a good impression of Emmett! You two could have been twins just there!" Emmett crossed his arms huffily, and I smiled playfully at him. He seemed to relax slightly, enough for his arms to fall back down to his sides, but Jake was still a little confused looking.

"What?" he repeated again, and I rolled my eyes.

"What do you mean 'what'? How much more obvious can I make it?" I wrapped my free hand around Jasper's waist and waited for Jake to get it. His eyes widened in rage, but his face quickly turned into the calm mask that I hated. This was the face that he used when he didn't want people to see his emotions. This was the face he used when he lied.

"That's great, Bella. Congratulations Jasper, you're one lucky guy." He tried a cheerful voice but lost it half way through.

"Yes, I know." Jasper returned quietly, and I searched his face to see what was bothering him. He was looking down and his eyes were sad. Why was he sad?

"Well, I'd better get going. Don't want Sam to think I'm slacking." He attempted a shaky laugh, but it wouldn't come out. All he did was make a strange choking noise.

"Bye Jake." I said sadly. I didn't want Jake to go, but he seemed a little upset at the moment and I thought it might be better if he was on his own to think.

"Jasper? What's wrong?" Jasper was still looking upset as Jacob closed the front door behind him. He turned to look at me, and remorse was clear in his eyes.

"I think I might have just lost a good friend. You may have not seen it, but Jake sort of had a . . . crush. On you. And now that we are together he seems to think that I am some sort of enemy." He sighed heavily and pecked me quickly on the lips.

"Jasper, don't worry about Jake. He'll come around, and he knows that I don't feel that way about him." He looked surprise by the fact that I knew of Jacob's affections for me. Oh, I knew about them, and I had spurned his advances many times before now. Jacob knew fine and well that I didn't have the same feeling for him as he did for me, and he had no business filing a vendetta against people because I had a boyfriend. I wasn't exactly going to stay single until I finally came around to his way of thinking, (which would be never) was I? I must have been pouting a little, because Jasper pushed my lip gently back into place.

"What are you thinking?" he gazed into my eyes with such a burning curiosity that it made me want to tell him.

"Well, Jacob can't really expect me to stay single forever, so he's just going to have to get over the fact that I don't love him, I love you." He smiled at the last part, and I stretched up to reach his mouth. I stopped so that our lips were barely touching, and his lips vibrated mine when he spoke.

"So, you do love me? Well I love you more." He laughed as my bottom lip jutted out and hit his.

"Prove it." I breathed, and he smiled.

"My pleasure." His lips crushed mine, both soft and hard at the same time. I fought back, pressing my own lips back on his. Jasper pulled me onto his lap, still not breaking the kiss, and my fingers tangled in his hair. His hand went to the small of my back, moulding me to his body. I fit perfectly into every curve of his, and his other hand was resting on my waist. I was enjoying myself so much that I didn't hear the sets of footsteps enter the room until I did hear the loud snickers coming from behind me. Groaning loudly, I broke away and turned to glare at the intruders. Alice was standing with her cell phone out, taking a video, and Edward was watching over shoulder. Rosalie and Emmett were standing on the bottom stair, and that was where the sniggering was coming from.

"Like I said, you got to love the camera phone!" Alice laughed and danced away before I collided with her.

"Alice! You bring that phone back here right now!" I threatened her, but she merely laughed again.

"I'm not scared of you Bella! Anyway, this is payback for Edward earlier. Did you think I was going to let you do that unpunished?" I turned on him, and he shrank under my glare.

"Bella, don't worry. Leave it." Jasper's voice in my ear made me jump, and I heard a soft chuckle from behind. "Made you jump." He breathed, and it was my turn to laugh as he used the same words that had led to the kiss this morning.

"Fine. But only if we get her back later." He grinned as I whispered my plan, too low for anyone else to hear.

"Everyone that isn't a girl, GO HOME! Girl time!" Rosalie shouted through the house, and Emmett picked up his keys, grumbling all the way to the door.

"I hate it when she kicks us out, I think it's so they can talk about us." He muttered to a grinning Jasper. He leaned down to me, whispering in my ear.

"Bye, love you." I turned and caught his lips with mine.

"Okay! We get it! Get out!" Rosalie shouted impatiently, shoving Jasper away from me and out the front door. My arms crossed and I gave a did-you-really-have-to-do-that look to her. She shrugged and walked over to link in with me.

"Time for a makeover! Jasper is going to flip when he sees you tomorrow!" she laughed and towed me upstairs. Groaning loudly, I was shoved into a swivel chair in the master bathroom and a towel was placed around my neck. Damn Rosalie with her hairdressing degree or whatever it is that she has. She pulled me over to the sink.

"Put your head over the sink, and I'll wash your hair." She instructed, pointing to the basin with the indentation for your neck and head. Where did she even get one of those? I did what I was told, knowing that it would be so much worse if I objected. I spent the next hour with Rosalie cutting my hair and styling it, and the next four hours after that shopping with Alice. God, that was the worst four hours of my life. Alice shoved me into a dressing room and began throwing clothes over the door for me to try on. Most of them were skirts or capris, and I didn't feel comfortable in them. The tops were mostly skimpy, designed for showing off your body. Not my style. I preferred Hot Topic band tees and skinnies. I liked some of the blouses and turtleneck sweatshirts that she gave me. A lovely turquoise coloured one went pretty well with my hair, so I bought that. Alice bought everything else, damn rich pixie. She always got lucky with the stock market, and gambling, and betting and everything else. I don't get it. I objected fiercely to her buying all of my things, but she waved it off and handed over her black American Express card to the clerk. She did oblige to buy some skinny jeans and band tees for which I was grateful. I couldn't live with just wearing skirts and tank tops for the rest of my life. When we finally exited the mall, it was dark and Alice drove me back to the clubhouse in her flashy Porsche. Only Alice Brandon could get away with driving a canary yellow 911 Turbo Porsche around Forks, where the most expensive car was an ancient Suburban.

"I'm going to get some gas, wait here." She climbed out of the car at the gas station, and I took my opportunity. I would have to move fast without her noticing. I dove into her purse and pulled out the little pink cell phone, scrolling through all of her videos. I sent it to my own phone, deleted hers, and made sure there were no back-ups. I only barely slid it back into her bag when she opened the door.

"Ready to go?" she nodded and started the engine. When we got back to Forks (which took a very short time when we were travelling at 110 mile per hour, scaring the shit out of me) Rosalie continued on to choose which outfit I would be wearing while Alice put a face pack on me and painted my nails. Rosalie and Alice were arguing over which pair of shoes I would be wearing when my phone buzzed. It was a text from Jasper.

_Hey, have they killed you yet? I hate it when you have girl time it means I can't be with you :( Don't worry, me and Emmett will spring you. Just say the word ;) Love you, Jaz x_

Uh oh. They can't spring me, I have a face pack on! I quickly texted back.

_Hey! Don't spring me! I know it sounds weird, but I don't want to be lol. Tell Emmett thnx tho. Love you too, I miss you! Bella x_

Alice had been reading over my shoulder as she put my hair up in curlers and let out a snort. I turned to shoot her a glare, and she shrugged.

"_I miss you_. It's been five hours! Young love indeed." She let out another snort, and Rosalie ghosted over to us with a dreamy look in her eye.

"I remember the first month with Emmett. I couldn't stand to be away from him. But, I realised it wouldn't do any good to pull that crap because we both had a life to live. I really do love him though." Alice nodded slowly, probably thinking of when she met Edward.

"I'm really glad that we all met. I don't know what I would do without you guys. Emmett is my gaming buddy and my over protective big brother, Edward's my guy friend that I can talk to, you, Alice are my shopping buddy, fashion consultant and sister, Rose, you're my big sister that I never had who helps me out in everything, and Jasper." I sighed. "I love Jasper more that anything else in the world. He is my best friend." Rosalie was looking at me with shining eyes, and Alice was smiling as soon as I mentioned her. We had a big group hug that Rosalie started first by throwing herself at me, and she wiped her eyes with her fingertips. Everything I had told them was true. I had never spoken to them with as much sincerity as I did then.

"Now all the mushy stuff is over, who wants pizza?" we all laughed and collapsed on the bed as I reached over to the phone on the bedside table.


End file.
